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Would you also like to submit a review for this item? You already recently rated this item. Your rating has been recorded. Write a review Rate this item: 1 2 3 4 5. Preview this item Preview this item. The Appendix contains the materials, including the extensive notes and glossary, for a more thorough understanding of Chaucer's works.
Find a copy online Links to this item Table of contents. Allow this favorite library to be seen by others Keep this favorite library private. Save Cancel. Find a copy in the library Finding libraries that hold this item Riverside Chaucer. Additional front and back notes make this the Chaucer of choice.
May 01, Alan rated it it was amazing Shelves: books-read-in-original-language. English literature is downhill from Chaucer. Even as a Shakespeare scholar, I would argue this, since there are several characters in Chaucer who are as if live: The Wif of Bath, the Pardoner, the Host, the Canon's Yeoman, and a half dozen others, at least. Shakespeare's characters, on the other hand, are all stagey, bigger than life, infused with the stage.
Or so it seems to me. Chaucer's Wif even makes colloquial grammar mistakes when she self-consciously describes what men like about women's bo English literature is downhill from Chaucer. Chaucer's Wif even makes colloquial grammar mistakes when she self-consciously describes what men like about women's bodies, such as "hire armes smalle.
The Host remarks how Chaucer as a pilgrim is staring at the ground while riding shy? Chaucer gives himself the worst of the CT; he tells a memorized tale, which the Host interrupts as he would now interrupt rap, "This may we be rym doggerel"--this is doggerel! As for Chaucer's superiority to all of English lit that follows, I would argue the same for Erasmus and H.
He wrote it for adolescent males, to teach them Latin, and it does this with a discussion between a prostitute and and a High School-age boy who's just been to Rome and reformed. Admonition: Both Chaucer and Erasmus write essentially in a foreign language, the Middle English of being much closer to French--which in fact was used in Courts of Law in England for yet another century. View all 5 comments.
Mar 03, Olivia-Savannah rated it liked it. This was a read for university. For what it is worth, Chaucer has a sense of humor!
It wasn't what I was expecting at all. I could laugh at the stories, and I could also identify different moral tales from them all at the same time too. You've got to love books which are as cleverly constructed and well written as this. At least, how to translate and re This was a read for university. At least, how to translate and read it. Even though this wasn't as difficult as Sir Gwain and the Green Knight as I have progressed in my medieval English, it was still a bit trying and stole some of the enjoyment of reading.
But this is a personal experience and not a criticism of Chaucer's work. View 1 comment. Mar 29, Alex Merritt rated it it was amazing. I may be a total nerd, but devoting a semester to reading Chaucer in middle English has been one of the best academic decisions I have ever made. One of Chaucer's short poems, The Book of the Duchess, written to condole Chaucer's patron John of Gaunt after he lost is beloved wife Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster, is among the most beautiful I have ever read.
My class began to read it a year after the death of another angel, Eve Carson, UNC student body president. I'm finding it difficult to put in I may be a total nerd, but devoting a semester to reading Chaucer in middle English has been one of the best academic decisions I have ever made. I'm finding it difficult to put in words, but my reading The Book of Duchess occurred at the right moment. There was something about reading this poem a year after her tragic death that somehow mirrored the reading of this poem to John of Gaunt a year after the death of Blanche.
It is a poem truly timeless. Troilus and Criseyde is fantastic as well. I think everyone can identify with Troilus's love-sickness in Book I.
And although they appear daunting, there is never a dull moment in The Canterbury Tales. I've even memorized the first sentence of the prologue: Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heeth The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne, And smale foweles maken melodye, That slepen al the nyght with open eye- So priketh hem Nature in hir corages ; Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; And specially from every shires ende Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende, The hooly blisful martir for to seke That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke.
View all 3 comments. Jun 11, sologdin rated it really liked it Shelves: of-best-sentence-and-moost-solaas , medieval , compassion-upon-the-afflicted. Everyone goes gooey for the Tales not without reason. But Troilus and Criseyde is the connoisseur's Chaucer. Shorter texts are great too. Most interesting thing about the Tales is how the proto-bourgeois Hoost directs the entire thing to his own advantage.
Hoost's greatest hits include: But by the croys which that Seint Eleyne fond, I wolde I hadde thy coillons in myn hond In stide of relikes or of seintuarie.
Lat kutte hem of, I wol thee helpe hem carie; They shul be shryned in an hogges Everyone goes gooey for the Tales not without reason.
Lat kutte hem of, I wol thee helpe hem carie; They shul be shryned in an hogges toord. Pardoner's Tale at More: "Namoore of this, for Goddes dignitee," Quod oure Hooste, "for thou makest me So wery of thy verray lewednesse, That also wisly God my soule blesse, Min eres aken of thy drasty speche.
Now swich a rym the devel I biteche! This may wel be rym dogerel," quod he. Sir, at o word thou shalt no lenger ryme. Lat se wher thou kanst tellen aught in geeste, Or telle in prose somwhat, at the leeste, In which ther be som murthe or som doctryne. Yes yes! Jan 28, Faith B rated it it was amazing Shelves: poetry , i-own , british-literature.
Chaucer is my love. Middle English is ridiculously hard for us Modern English-ers to read, but Chaucer is oh so worth it. I bought this for my Chaucer seminar, which focused on everything but the Canterbury Tales. Can I just say that everyone should read Troilus and Criseyde? No one knows about it but extreme English dorks like myself :P , but most scholars think it his greatest work. The men are so awful!
So, my conclusion. Read Chauc Chaucer is my love. Read Chaucer, please! View 2 comments. Jan 24, Gaius rated it it was amazing. So fucking good. Feb 16, Sarah rated it it was amazing Shelves: medieval-lit , english-lit , favorites. II "The sore spark of peyne doth me spille; This love hath [eek] me set in swich a place That my desyr [he] never wol fulfille; For neither pitee, mercy, neither grace Can I not finde; and fro my sorwful herte, For to be deed, I can hit nat arace.
The more I love, the more she doth me smerte; Through which I see, with-oute remedye, That from the deeth I may no wyse asterte; For this day in hir servise shal I dye. As well as being the primary writer of his time and basically every English student's introduction into medieval literature, his poetry is so precisely metrical in a way that makes a natural flow easy to catch onto while reading.
Additionally, his work is undoubtedly the smoothest way to start reading Middle English, so that when you feel like moving on to somebody else's work ex. The Pearl Poet, Langland, etc. Another reason why Chaucer is so great is that his philosophies are simply wonderful to read about.
Sometimes it can hinder a work from being really great Troilus and Criseyde , for example , but for the most part it makes for a really great insight into medieval standards of life. There are plenty of allegorical dreams to be read about, which is almost kind of a trope for medieval literature; however, Chaucer's accounts are a lot less cryptic than something like Piers Plowman , which is basically the Inception of allegories.
So really, it all ultimately comes back to me saying that Chaucer is the backbone of medieval literature. He's a wonderful starting point, but he's also such a relief to come back to after reading more some of his more challenging contemporaries.
Another final note I must make is one universal truth: read Chaucer in his original language and Shakespeare will never be difficult to read ever again. Oct 12, An Idler rated it it was amazing.
I read just The Canterbury Tales from this edition. If you're interested, I recommend giving Chaucer a shot in the Middle English instead of going straight to a translation. The original language is melodious - and different enough from modern English to teach some etymology. Additionally, if you speak just one language and it's English, what other year-old works of world literature do you have a shot at reading? Yes, it'll be slow going as you bounce between footnotes and some YouTube video I read just The Canterbury Tales from this edition.
Yes, it'll be slow going as you bounce between footnotes and some YouTube videos as you learn how to pronounce your new vocabulary, but Homer, Virgil, Dante are all closed to you in the original languages. As for the work itself, I came to it primarily interested in validating the claims of singular humanity made by the tweedy anti-modern moderns like Sirs Kenneth Clark and Roger Scruton.
And it's true. Chaucer writes characters who seem absolutely real, often by their very low-brow fallenness. Every kind of barnyard or schoolyard joke makes an appearance, half the stories involve conduct that would now be criminal or at least open to a lawsuit , and many of the characters dislike each other for the same broad class-and-occupational prejudices you might find in any random crowd today.
It's an undertaking, but also a clearer line of sight into a past world - with its own similarities and dissimilarities to ours - than you're liable to get Jun 16, Aaron Cance rated it it was amazing. The Holy Grail for Chaucerians. It pleased me to no end that this was on the list of required texts for my grad-level course in Chaucer because it gave me an excuse to add it to my library! There are very few works of literature in the English language as diverse as The Canterbury Tales - in turns deadly serious, baudy, unapologetically sexual, and meditative, this is arguably one of the greatest collection of stories ever written.
I've read through The Canterbury Tales three times in their entirety, once in the Modern English and twice in Middle English, and each time the text produces something new and delightful, either on a microtextual level or a realization about the work as a whole.
In the interest of full disclosure: I haven't yet read his Troilus and Criseyde, but would like to get to it some day. Sep 11, Adriano Bulla rated it it was amazing. I remember when Professor Savoia told us this was, and I believe still is, the only complete collection of Chaucer's opus, I hurried to buy this tome, and did not think I would ever read it all, but, it looks, years on, many, to be honest, only a few 'minor' poems still elude me.
In terms of structure, there is as much as you can expect in a single volume collection of a pretty prolific poet; a general introduction, a rather detailed exposition of Chaucer's language, introductions to the major wo I remember when Professor Savoia told us this was, and I believe still is, the only complete collection of Chaucer's opus, I hurried to buy this tome, and did not think I would ever read it all, but, it looks, years on, many, to be honest, only a few 'minor' poems still elude me.
In terms of structure, there is as much as you can expect in a single volume collection of a pretty prolific poet; a general introduction, a rather detailed exposition of Chaucer's language, introductions to the major works, notes at the end. All compacted in one 'manageable' volume.
For those who are still stuck with reading 'The Canterbury Tales', I suggest they skip around a bit, Chaucer is really much, much more than them. Dec 03, Lisa Feld rated it it was amazing Shelves: bard. This is a massive doorstop of a book, but it's invaluable for a student or scholar: Chaucer's works in their original Middle English with definitions of words in the margins, allowing students to learn as they go and minimize disruptive flipping back and forth between the text and a dictionary.
All of the linguistic subtlety of Chaucer's original work is made clear here in a way that is lost in even the best translations. Chaucer's sense of structure and character are literary game-changers that This is a massive doorstop of a book, but it's invaluable for a student or scholar: Chaucer's works in their original Middle English with definitions of words in the margins, allowing students to learn as they go and minimize disruptive flipping back and forth between the text and a dictionary.
Chaucer's sense of structure and character are literary game-changers that shine through in any version, but one thing that does get lost in translation is the way Chaucer shifts between words with French or Old English roots to show each character's class and background, a technique of regional dialect that eighteenth-century novelists mistakenly patted themselves on the back for inventing. All in all, this edition is challenging but rewards serious effort.
Sep 10, Beth rated it it was ok Shelves: books-from-grad-school-courses. Okay, so this is THE book for Chaucer studies. The way the footnotes are set up is completely asinine, in my opinion. This is a great edition for Chaucer scholars who have been reading Chaucer for decades and know the stories well and read Middle English just as easily as they read the newspaper. For people not in those categories, this is not the ideal edition. Look for an edition that gives definitional glosses out to t Okay, so this is THE book for Chaucer studies.
Look for an edition that gives definitional glosses out to the side of each line rather than at the bottom of the page. It will make a huge difference.
Apr 07, Beth added it Shelves: classics. If you're looking for some Chaucer, this is the best, most comprehensive collection of his work. If you're not looking for some Chaucer, well, then this book would just be a silly choice. Mar 14, Ian Bennett rated it it was amazing Shelves: to-grab-when-the-house-catches-fire. Shelves: literature-english , literary-classics , poetry.
This massive tome, pages in length, was the text used in my college Chaucer class, and provides a wonderful introduction to the works of this brilliant, but frequently under-appreciated poet. The introduction and appendices provide some very usef This massive tome, pages in length, was the text used in my college Chaucer class, and provides a wonderful introduction to the works of this brilliant, but frequently under-appreciated poet.
The introduction and appendices provide some very useful background material, whether of a biographical or literary nature. The texts themselves are presented with explanatory vocabulary footnotes, fleshed out further by the scholarly notes and glossary at the conclusion of the volume.
I have loved The Canterbury Tales since first reading them in high school, and feel quite passionately that they are best appreciated in their original form. You have not really read Chaucer until you have read him in the Middle English, and The Riverside Chaucer provides the reader with a relatively pain-free way of doing just that.
Full of unexpected humor, sly innuendo, and a witty wordplay that doesn't always translate in modern "updates," Chaucer's language is not so different from our own that it cannot be approached by the novice. I certainly had no experience reading Middle English before picking up this book, and somehow managed, with the help of the notes and vocabulary, to enjoy the experience. One final note: although this book is similar in name and scope to the more ubiquitous The Riverside Shakespeare it is worth noting that it can boast of far better production values, being attractively bound on the outside, and printed upon good quality paper, that does not have the feel of newsprint.
All in all, a beautiful volume, well worth owning. Jan 13, Mariah rated it it was amazing. This book was the backbone to a Chaucer course I have recently completed. This collection contains all you'll need from Chaucer's poetry, to the ever-famous Canterbury Tales, and more.
I found that although I loved the tales, Chaucer's poetry claimed a special place in my heart. His work is noble and honest. Critiquing of humanity and it's pitfalls, and it's beauty as well. He started something in his lifetime. As an educated and nobleman who was in relation with the aristocracy, he deliberately This book was the backbone to a Chaucer course I have recently completed.
As an educated and nobleman who was in relation with the aristocracy, he deliberately chose to write in the Middle English language. I found that to be quite the political statement, but I leave that for you to decide. This work is entirely in Middle English, and requires much detangling, but is so very worth it.
This has to have been one the most literarily-rich courses I've ever taken in terms of subject matter, context, and delivery. Chaucer was a master penman.
His work will leave your world-view a little broader, and your hope for humanity, a little stronger. I have to admit, I wasn't exactly impressed by the former, although it was interesting to learn about the background of fabliaux, and our Old English department put on a wonderful dramatisation of it! But not really my style of humour. I did find them kind of difficult to read, but I found reading them in a Scottish accent helped.
Well, in my head, at least. Despite being born and raised in Scotland my accent is rather boring, but I've heard enough broad ones to imagine it in my head. Canterbury Tales is certainly one of those books, like Ulysses or Proust or Golden Bowl, that no one's actually read or if they have they hated it or if they didn't they're lying because they think it'll impress you.
But I took a whole class on this in college and I had this terrific professor, and she showed me how awesome this is. Really, it's a heap of fun. Are you impressed? View all 6 comments. May 08, Matt rated it it was amazing. Full confession: I haven't read the entire thing. I have read most of it. Yes, it's in Middle English. Yes, it is awesome.
Also, you totally feel accomplished once you've read a good chunk of it. Makes you feel all hardcore and stuff. Chaucer is the mad note. Mar 31, Mark Adderley rated it it was amazing Shelves: medieval-literature. This is the greatest edition of one of the greatest authors. Perhaps Shakespeare is greater. Chaucer's ability to capture the variety and earthiness of human life is unparalleled.
He is the poet of human nature. This is THE Chaucer book, it has everything plus helpful comments and annotations. I wish I had the time to read it front to back, but for now I only had the time to read some of the Tales and the Romaunt of the Rose. Full disclosure: I skipped the longer translations from other writers. Many tales were tacked onto the original versions by later authors, but The Riverside Chaucer has tried diligently to weed out these extras. Chaucer frames the Tales with a General Prologue that describes each of the pilgrims and sets up the story of their pilgrimage to the Cathedral at Canterbury.
The host of the tavern where the pilgrims gather before setting off, Harry Bailey, suggests that the pilgrims play a game of telling tales to each other to while away the time as they travel. The original plan called for four tales from each pilgrim. Whether Chaucer ran out of time or simply never intended to complete four tales for each pilgrim is unknown, but most of the pilgrims tell only one tale, and the ones called upon to tell more than one tale are not able to complete all of their tales.
The pilgrims are a mishmash of clergy, nobles, tradespeople, and commoners. In the interstices between the tales they squabble and poke at each other and often use their turn at storytelling to wreak revenge on the previous teller. For example, the Miller tells a fabliau tale as a rebuttal to the drawn-out romance related by the Knight. Because the Miller makes fun of a carpenter in his tale, the Reeve, a carpenter by trade, makes a miller the butt of his fabliau. Chaucer also avails himself of different rhyme schemes and formats that fit either the pilgrim telling the tale or the style of the tale itself.
As with other poems, Chaucer uses a dream framework through which to narrate the poem and console John of Gaunt the mourning knight for the loss of his wife the beautiful woman. The Parliament of Fowls : In this poem, various birds debate the nature of love, poetry and philosophy.
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